I’ve Been Hacked

September 24, 2009

Sorry if you’ve been trying to check out links, or leave comments on this blog. I’ve been hacked, so they’re not functioning properly right now.

This is only the second time this blog has been hacked in about 30 months. The first time, I was hacked by total losers who couldn’t even cover their own tracks (it took me about 2 minutes to work out who did it), so I thought I was pretty secure and I probably became too complacent.

A few days ago, my Facebook account was hacked. I know this because a friend I’d never heard of just appeared in my friends list. So do check to make sure you don’t have any unwanted friends on yours and if you have a guy named Ripon Saha, you might want to remove him from your account immediately.

I don’t know if there’s a connection between the two hacks – I haven’t checked yet. But apparently, if someone gets into your Facebook account, there’s a possibility that they can get into your email account, scam a heap of cash out of your friends etc.

You can find out about Facebook scams and how to avoid bad shit happening to your account here: 5 Facebook Scams And How To Avoid Them.

If you think your blog isn’t important enough to be hacked, you need to check out Wordpress Security – The First Thing You Should Understand. And if you don’t have time to protect your blog from hackers, or you’re too lazy, John Hoff is happy to secure your blog for you.

My blog may be down for a few days while I fix it. I needed to do some maintenance work on it anyway, so this has given me the push I needed to get started.

Has your blog been hacked before? Did you realise your social networking accounts could also be hacked?

Posted by cathlawson | Filed Under Misc

Comments

23 Responses to “I’ve Been Hacked”

Dot on September 24th, 2009 1:37 pm

So sorry to hear this has happened to you, and twice, no less. I had saved the instructions for safeguarding my blog, but have been procrastinating on doing the work. Blogging is so much work. I hadn’t even thought about Facebook and Twitter. Geez!

Dot’s last blog post..Through a Glass, Grimly – Part 2
Lillie Ammann on September 24th, 2009 2:23 pm

Cath,

What a shame. I know getting things back to normal will be a pain. Good luck!

Lillie Ammann’s last blog post..By: [1]?????? ??? ????? do follow | ???? ?????
Vered - Blogger for Hire on September 24th, 2009 5:04 pm

I do everything I’m supposed to do to protect my blog, but I guess nothing is completely foolproof.

Vered – Blogger for Hire’s last blog post..A Warning Label for Retouched Photos
cathlawson on September 24th, 2009 6:03 pm

Hi Dot – I procrastinate like you do. John told me I should be doing extra stuff but I kept putting it off. And who on earth would have thought that your social network accounts could be hacked.

Hi Lillie – It wasn’t so bad as I thought. Once I took the time to check through things, it was easy to find what was causing the major damage. I must admit – I thought it was going to take me days to fix things.

Hi Vered – I figured you would be organised. I hope you checked to make sure you didn’t add that dude – because you have a lot of Facebook friends. And it’s easy to assume you must vaguely know someone because they seem to be friends of other peeps you know.
Jannie Funster on September 24th, 2009 7:05 pm

Dang! That sucks, Cath. I need to get serious with John Hoff.

Jannie Funster’s last blog post..Jannie Funster Blog Hits The Big Oh-1!
Patricia on September 24th, 2009 7:57 pm

Wow this is so awful, I am thinking about getting rid of facebook, because it keeps giving me new viruses that corrupt my computer programs….I just knocked on wood and kissed the stones with this last repair.
Why do folks have to be so mean spirited?

Patricia’s last blog post..I LOVE THIS MAGAZINE
cathlawson on September 24th, 2009 8:55 pm

Hi Jannie – I know. It’s worth speaking to John. My problems were easy fixable this time – but I guess I was lucky. I’m going to be doing the stuff he recommends now for sure. Also – another thing I was thinking – don’t use the same password for your blog on facebook etc and change your blog password often.

Hi Patricia – Exactly – why can’t they use their skills to do something positive? that is scary that you’ve been getting viruses from facebook apps.

I know it seems harsh – but I think I’m going to delete the games, apps, quizzes and stuff from my account – it just doesn’t seem worth the hassle.
Jason Cohen on September 25th, 2009 3:17 am

Tip for everyone: Your email account is the key to ALL your other accounts.

Why?

Because the way you “recover lost password” from ALL other accounts is for them to email you.

So if someone can just READ your email, they can reset every other password you have.

So guard your email with your life.

Jason Cohen’s last blog post..Put down the compiler until you learn why they’re not buying
Jens on September 25th, 2009 5:16 am

That is awful. Being hacked is like being invaded and it is very frustrating. Thank you for this useful information and i know this could help your readers as well. I suppose one have to experience it to know more about it.

Jens’s last blog post..FRIE Funktionærer
cathlawson on September 25th, 2009 5:32 am

Hi Jason – Thank you. I’ve been having problems with my email account recently, so I’m wondering if that is what happened.

Hi Jens – You are welcome. I hope it helps my readers and at the very least – they’ll tighten their blog security.
Melissa Donovan on September 25th, 2009 9:06 pm

Scary stuff! We all need to protect our digital properties, so thanks for these tips Cath!

Melissa Donovan’s last blog post..Writing Resources: Stephen King On Writing
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach on September 25th, 2009 10:48 pm

Owies owies owies! Hope you get everything fixed as soon as possible. People can be such jerks online.

Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach’s last blog post..How to PREPARE to make a HOT ebook for 2010
Barbara Swafford on September 26th, 2009 9:12 am

Hi Catherine,

I read on Facebook you’re now all a-okay. That’s great.

I like the tip from Jason. That’s so true. Our email accounts can have tons of information in them .

Barbara Swafford’s last blog post..When Real Life Friends Don’t “Get It”
Barbara the Virtual Coach's Journal - Page 14 on September 26th, 2009 12:44 pm

[...] I’ve Been Hacked | Catherine Lawson [...]
Davina on September 26th, 2009 11:03 pm

Hi Cath. Seems life was maybe just a little bit simpler before everything went online wasn’t it? Sorry to hear this has happened to you YET again! How frustrating. Seems we can never do enough to protect ourselves.

Davina’s last blog post..Alluring Pathways Through Thyme
Hunter Nuttall on September 27th, 2009 12:39 am

Gee Cath, sorry to hear that this happened to you…twice! It’s unfortunate that you’re going to lose a few days because of this, but it’s great that you know how to recover. What if they had changed your password so you couldn’t log in? Yikes!

Hunter Nuttall’s last blog post..Take The Shel Silverstein Challenge
J.D. Meier on September 28th, 2009 5:44 am

I’m sorry to hear that. Good luck with taking care of things.

J.D. Meier’s last blog post..The 80 Year New Economy Cycle
wilhb81 on September 28th, 2009 6:39 am

OMG, Cath. Have you warned the hacker not to do it again, or you’ll report the case to the cybercrime.gov website! I think it will teach him/her a lesson…

wilhb81’s last blog post..Business one-liners 67
Chris Peterson on September 28th, 2009 12:11 pm

Hi Cathy!
Sorry! Don’t worry. In this tough time, we are all with you. So relax! Come back with force & I am sure you will be more than fine.
A tip:
1. Don’t let this experience go wasted. Learn something from it.

Chris Peterson’s last blog post..Want To Become More Impressive, READ ON!
Robert on September 28th, 2009 6:54 pm

Hopefully you can get everything worked out.

Robert’s last blog post..South African Man Marries Four Women Simultaneously–Talk About a Need for Life Insurance!
Cath Lawson on September 29th, 2009 5:23 am

Hi Melissa – Thanks – I know. I’m beginning to realise that hackers will hack anything just because they can.

Hi Barbara – Thanks. I know. Remember what forums were like – forgot what it was called – before we had real forums everywhere?

Hi Barbara – I’m glad Jason mentioned that – I guess email accounts are the key to so many other things that we want to keep locked up.

Hi Davina – You changed your pic to the real you. You picked a great one. Life was simpler in some ways but I don’t miss using a typewriter and the library all the time.

Hi Hunter – I’m glad it didn’t happen. It scares me when you mention losing days though – I hadn’t thought about it like that. I guess I already feel like I lost so many this year that I’m past caring.

Thanks JD – getting sorted out now.

Hi Wilson – I didn’t think of that. Mind you, I didn’t even know about the cybercrime website. Thanks for the link.

Thanks Chris – I think the main thing I’ve learned is not to be complacent. And not to play silly games and quizzes on ebook.

Hi Robert – Thanks. I’ve sorted most things but I definitely need to fix a few more.

Cath Lawson’s last blog post..I’ve Been Hacked
John Hoff - WP Blog Host on September 30th, 2009 9:24 pm

Unfortunately, like Vered said, nothing is foolproof. Increasing blog security helps to prevent your blog from getting hacked by people looking for any target they can get into; however, they may not stop specific people dedicated to hacking your site.

In other words, locking your car doors and setting the car alarm will probably thwart most car thieves looking to steal a car, but not necessarily the one looking to steal YOUR car.

Sorry you got hacked. That sucks.
cathlawson on October 2nd, 2009 2:47 am

Hi John – That is a good point. It makes sense that they would hit the easiest target. I guess that I didn’t realise how dangerous Facebook could be. Apparently other social networking sites have been targeted too – including Twitter.